USA
Bells tolled at Roman Catholic churches across the nation after Pope John Paul II's weekend passing, and President Bush ordered US flags on all federal buildings to be flown at half-staff until the pontiff is buried. Bush, who called the John Paul II "a champion of human freedom," is expected to travel to Rome for the funeral. Cardinal Roger Mahony, who heads the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation's largest, joined other cardinals in Rome to select the pope's successor.
Following an autopsy, Terri Schiavo was cremated Saturday, consistent with the desires of her husband, Michael Schiavo, who plans to have the ashes buried in Pennsylvania, where she grew up. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, who fought vainly to prevent Schiavo from having their daughter's feeding tube removed at a Pinellas Park, Fla., hospice, had sought to have their own independent expert observe her autopsy and indicated they wanted burial in Pinellas County so they could more easily visit her grave. Results of the autopsy are not expected for at least two weeks.
About 150 volunteers and supporters of a citizen initiative called the Minuteman Project filed past the Border Patrol station in Douglas, Ariz., Saturday, chanting "Hey, hey, ho, ho, illegal aliens got to go." Jim Gilchrist, a former California accountant who organized the project, said he expects 450 volunteers to observe a stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border that he and others believe is inadequately guarded by the government. They will report any illegal activity to federal agents.
Acting on new information, the FBI said it found explosive materials in a crawl space late last week at the former Herington, Kan., home of Terry Nichols, the convicted conspirator in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. Investigators said the materials appeared to have been there since before the terrorist act. Agents are looking for clues about who handled the evidence and whether it was planted there.
Authorities investigating the shooting rampage that led to 10 deaths last month on Minnesota's Red Lake Chippewa reservation are looking into the possibility that as many as 20 other students had prior knowledge of shooter Jeff Weise's plans - or participated in plotting with him. Meanwhile, Floyd Jourdain Jr., the Red Lake tribal chairman, proclaimed the innocence of his son, who was arrested in connection with the murders and said he wouldn't resign unless the public urged him to do so.
